It Couldn't Please Me More

After a week of hiatus I have returned with stories a plenty. The "Allure of the Seas" and the stops along the way were home to some amazing stories and memories that we'll be talking about for a long time. The ship itself is the largest in the world. It consists of 7 neighborhoods that are free to explore. The royal promenade (the mall), the boardwalk (home to the aqua theater and carousel), central park (outdoor area with restaurants), entertainment place (comedy club, ice skating rink, main theater, casino, and club) to name a few. Needless to say, it was an amazing shop and there was always stuff to do. There are a couple essential parts of a cruise vacation though. First the ship, and the staff, and the service and all that, and then there's the people you travel with. The Slutsky's and the Bernsen's, two very good family friends, were fantastic travel partners and without them it would have been a completely different trip. Dinners, excursions, and just sitting out by the pool was always entertaining, and it was just a pleasure to be able to spend time with everyone. 

Like I said, there was always something to do on the ship and during one of the first nights , there was a game show type thing called "The Quest." Essentially there are 10 teams, and you have show the host that your team has something, but you can't leave the vicinity. Lipstick (but it must be on a man), Abe Lincoln (a penny), 2 bras (that sort of speaks for itself) are just a few examples, but little did I know that one of those little things would change my entire vacation. I was lucky enough to be a team captain and when it was time to see a pair of heels on a man's feet, I was ready to step up to the plate. So I strapped on a pair of heels from one of my friends on my team and took my time strutting up the the middle of the court to show that we had the required item. While the other men were falling and stumbling their way up, I took my time and walked up like they were any regular pair of shoes. Oh, I forgot to mention that "Single Ladies" was playing, so how could I resist whipping out some of the moves I knew. Let's just say that for the rest of the cruise I was known as "Mattyonce" by everyone on board and was shaking hands and taking pictures with people for the rest of the week (and that's not a joke.) I'm not going to complain about the fame but after the tenth time of being asked to do single ladies from a random person in the middle of a hallway on my way to bed, it got a bit old. That was only the beginning though. When we got off the boat in St. Thomas, we knew something was bound to happen. It wasn't until we were on our way back to the ship that the craziness ensued. Earlier, we had hopped into one of these big open air cabs that seated 15 of us. The ride to the beach was nuts but I am happy to report that nothing fell out in transit. But our cab driver turned out to be very protective of her customers. When we were ready to head back, our driver from before had not arrived yet. Without second guessing, we hopped in a cab about the same size and were heading back to the ship when we saw her cab approaching. Suddenly both cabs stopped side by side and she began to scream something along the lines of, "Gimmie back ma people!" We all sort of sat in shock and were confused as to what to do. Our driver continued driving forward and we watched our old driver turn around and follow us until we both eventually stopped. We immediately got out of this new cab and got into the old one. It turns out, she was not a force you'd want to reckon with due to the fact that she was in possession of a firearm and was willing and ready to use it if she did not get "her people" back. We sat in silence for about a minute, and then we laughed the rest of the ride back to the ship. That kind of stuff only happens to people like us in St. Thomas. It was a story for the books, and I am sure that "gimmie back ma people" will be something we're saying for a long time. A couple of other quick little stories for you: I found out this week that my mother and her best friend thought Puss in Boots was two different people. Puss and Boots. New years was an incredible night...which I don't know much about since I was asleep by 1:00. Putting a broadway show on a ship and expecting it to be a broadway quality show...not gonna happen. BINGO must be rigged because I played every day and was one away...one time. Casino's are only fun when you makes money, otherwise slot machines are just annoying and loud. Most important of all, cruising with Royal Carribean is "fierce." Overall I had an amazing week at sea and I cannot wait to do it again next year...and for 9 days! For now, I'm going to sit in this airport and enjoy the sun while I can. My last two weeks of break will be spent in Chicago, probably losing my tan. Snow and cold, here I come! In the meanwhile I'll be working out and stretching towards my splits every day. I'll be sure to keep you updated on all thats happening before my return to BoCo, where second semester is soon to be underway. Now that's what I call vacation! 

-Matt

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Christmas Lullaby

Hello from beneath the rays of sunny florida. I am currently sitting in my room with my cousin Jordan and I decided to post since it's been a few days. Let me recap some of the past week for all ya'lls. So, the flight to FLA was quite nice. Nothing too bad, easy window seat, and a couple that only spoke spanish next to me wasn't the worst combination. Beside the fact that they fell asleep and endlessly drooled on each other, it was all good. I got my luggage ok and was happy to be arriving in Florida, and not in snowy and cold Chicago. I hung out with my grandparents for a whole 24 hours and it was lovely. We went to dinner at this really "hip" restaurant that is owned by the same people who run my favorite place in Florida. The next day my mom, dad, and brother arrived and the fun began. Since than we've been sitting in the sun and just hanging out, not to mention sleeping in and staying up late.Why you ask? Because this kid is new Netflix subscriber and has become addicted the Showtime sensation, Weeds. I have already finished 2 seasons in a matter of 48 hours and I cannot stop. I love the fact that the show is classified as a dramady, which is exactly what it is. There are moments that I laugh quite hard, and moments where I am literally sitting on my bed with my mouth wide open. It keeps me on edge the entire time, I am, like I said, addicted. Speaking of dramatic media, my first night here I had the privilege of seeing "The Black Swan" with my grandparents, not something I would recommend. The movie itself was fantastic and Natalie Portman was stunning. I sincerely hope she wins the oscar, or at least something. That's the kind of role that can mess someone up in their head, and she really was acting out of her mind, like crazy amazing. Speaking of ACTING, I recently started reading a book for my acting class, "The Actor and The Target". I really didn't know what to expect but I have to say, though I am only 3 chapters in, it's incredible. I'm already learning a lot from it! If you're into deep stuff about acting, give it a good read. That means you Rachel Rubenstein. Other than that, there hasn't been much going on. Today my aunt, uncle and cousins arrived, and the party REALLY got started. Tonight we got dinner at a restaurant named LoLa, and it was mighty delicious. There was, of course, no lack of laughs as it always is when our whole family is together. It was a lot of fun and it made me sit back and appreciate my family on this Christmas Eve. LoLa stands for Laugh often, Love A Lot and I guess this will be the deep part of my blog for the night. I decided, after taking a picture of the sign, and thinking about it I sort of decided I need to do both a lot more. I think that at school I have been taking things a little too seriously, and maybe in life in general too. I need to start laughing stuff off, and today I had the chance to grab a bit with an old camp friend and it reminded me how good laughing feels. There are so many memories from camp that make me laugh harder than anything else, and I realized that I need more of that in the rest of my life. So from now on, I'm gonna laugh...more. In terms of Love A Lot, I'm gonna start by showing my love for the people around me more. Sometimes I guess I take things for granted, like people, and I don't tell people how much they mean to me enough. So, that's my "preach" for the day. Give it thought, do you laugh and love enough? Anyway, I hope that this finds you well and that your new year is wonderful and bright. And of course, have a merry Christmas. 

(I have been dying to end my blog like this since I started)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

-Matt

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